The government has said it will carry out an assessment of faulty breast implants which could potentially pose a health risk to thousands of women.

Under review: The faulty breast implants were banned last year after they were discovered to contain non-medical-grade silicone (Picture: Reuters)

Health Secretrary Andrew Lansley said that while those who had the implants did not need to have them routinely removed, there was concern that current evidence about the risks was not reliable.

Around 40,000 women in Britain are thought to have had implants made by French firm Poly Implant Prothese (PiP) – a figure which includes those who have had reconstructive surgery on the NHS.

However the implants have since been banned – and PiP shut down by the French authorities – after it was found to be using a cheaper, non-medical grade silicone filler which was intended for use in mattresses.

While Mr Lansley repeated recent government advice that there was no evidence of a risk to health, he admitted he had been left ‘concerned and unhappy’ by data given to him from a private supplier of the implants.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he had been left concerned by new data about the implants from a private company (Picture: PA)

And he said Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, would be reviewing the situation.

‘We are doing everything we can to ensure that women with these implants get the best possible advice,’ Mr Lansley said.

‘So far, all the evidence from around the world suggests that women should not be worried and that there have not been abnormal levels of problems reported with these implants. But if any woman is worried, then they should contact their surgeon or GP.’

Previously, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had said there was only a one per cent risk of the implants splitting, while there was no link to them being a cancer risk.

However Mr Lansley admitted the government had since received data from an ‘organisation yesterday that was not previously acknowledged or communicated to the MHRA.’